


Endure the Darkness

by The C in MJCK (Writersblock159)



Category: RWBY
Genre: Angst, Dark, Drama, Dreams and Nightmares, Everyone Needs A Hug, Friendship, Gen, Hugs, Nightmares, One Shot, Other, Sadness, but kinda, freezerburn if you squint, i guess, if you want to read it that way - Freeform, not really - Freeform, supportive friends, then go for it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:20:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,157
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27309103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Writersblock159/pseuds/The%20C%20in%20MJCK
Summary: Sometimes the most dangerous monsters are found not at the end of a blade, but in the mind.
Relationships: None
Kudos: 2





	Endure the Darkness

**Author's Note:**

> So for anyone who didn't know, I was busy dealing with Marine stuffs. The Muse is still being... obnoxious when it comes to finishing the rest of my works, and my ML beta is still nowhere to be found. That said, I was lucky enough to get this through my RWBY Beta (finally) as well as PH309, which is now in the titling and polishing phase. Hopefully that will be out soon. *Knocks on wood*
> 
> I don't own RWBY.
> 
> TRIGGER WARNINGS: Revisiting Sexual Assault, Depictions of Loss, Murder, Death...
> 
> Nothing overly graphic, but BE AWARE!

She had been handling it okay until Winter had arrived.

Winter wasn't supposed to be here. She was supposed to be safe in Atlas. General Ironwood had told her to leave. Weiss remembered seeing her get on the yacht and departing.

Yet here she was, fighting as Beacon burned around them.

"Winter!" Weiss screamed as her sister's blades flashed, cutting into Grimm without any trouble. The Specialist wasn't paying attention to her footing and didn't see the falling wall next to her. Weiss reached out, forcing her aura into a shield glyph above her big sister-

And panicked when the wall shattered it, covering Winter and obscuring her from view in a mess of dust and debris.

"No!" Weiss was already running toward the place she'd last seen her sister. Tears were coursing down her face, slightly obscuring her vision. That was the only reason she must have missed the body she tripped over. Cursing, she got up and froze as she met the lifeless gaze of her partner.

 _Ruby_.

She knew that she was screaming, she knew that it hurt. Ruby couldn't be gone, she _couldn't_. As she stared, something in her peripheral vision caught her eye, and instincts finely honed by her ancestors were her only saving grace as she threw herself out of the way of more burning debris. Glancing back to where she'd seen her sister disappear, she realized that she faced a choice: escape or die.

_I'm sorry._

With a final look, she burst out into the- dorm? She'd been in the library just a moment ago, why was she-?

Her thoughts were interrupted as a blond blur flew past her into the wall. With a grunt, Yang flew back into combat against the Grimm that had apparently broken in. Beside her Nora and Ren were driving the monster back, while Pyrrha was cradling a bleeding body in her arms and crying.

Weiss raised Myrtenaster and took a ready stance just as things went wrong.

Nora overextended her swing and the Grimm, sensing an opportunity, snapped forward. It took a hardy blow from the redhead, but had no trouble cleanly decapitating her. As the lifeless body fell, Ren let out a guttural cry of despair. Clearly disregarding his own safety, he closed with the beast and sunk his blades into it. The daggers didn't seem to bother it too much, and it grabbed him by the chest and shook him about like a ragdoll before tossing him into a nearby wall.

He didn't get up.

As Weiss debated on whether she wanted to help with the monster or check on Ren, Pyrrha finally seemed to notice that she was the last of her team and grabbed her sword and shield, lunging into battle. She and Yang had no problem driving it back, and Weiss began pelting it with ice shards and creating platforms for her friends to jump off of. The Grimm seemed to realize that it was going to lose and let out a primal roar, and her vision went dark, though the sound of a shotgun blast was clear as day.

When her sight finally returned, she felt her stomach churn as she took in the scene in front of her.

Yang was lying, cleanly sliced in half, where she had been standing across from Pyrrha. The green-eyed girl, meanwhile, was lying...well, was _spread_ across the wall. Her aura had obviously shattered under the onslaught of Yang's shot, and her torso had nearly disintegrated. Yang must have been taking most of the damage before, seeing as Pyrrha was not usually strong enough to slice through the brawler's aura so efficiently.

Before she could try to… she wasn't even sure _what_ she could do, a shadow moved further in. Hoping that whoever it was could help, Weiss called out. When no one responded, she raced after it. As she moved through the school, she tried not to cry at what she saw.

Most of the teachers were dead, though their attackers were strangely missing. Velvet and Coco had been eviscerated, and Yatuhashi was protecting a very obviously mortally wounded Fox from what looked like a massive Borbatusk. As she moved to help them, there was an ominous rumble, and the doorway fell in, blocking her way. As she continued to run, more and more bodies could be seen. General Ironwood, Qrow, Ruby and Yang's father.

None of them were breathing.

She continued to run, not knowing where she was. Every time she thought she recognized where she was the path would lead to a different part of the school. Before she knew it, she was back in the dorms, in front of her own room. Tentatively, she opened the door.

Blake was lying on the carpet, obviously bleeding but still alive, thank the brothers. Without hesitating, Weiss crossed to her injured (and only, though she tried not to think about that) teammate.

"Why'd you leave us?"

Blake's words cut her to the quick, and she stopped.

"I- What?"

"You said you'd be there for us, but Ruby's dead, Yang's dead. It's all your fault." The Faunus coughed up something that looked suspiciously like blood. "I- I trusted you, Weiss. I thought you weren't like your father."

"I'm not!" Weiss couldn't believe Blake would say these things. "I tried to get back in time, really, Blake! You have to believe me!"

"Still a Schnee." Blake's breaths were coming faster now. "Liar to the last. You don't have to pretend to like me anymore, Weiss." She came closer. "I know I don't."

Weiss blinked back tears as her friend stopped breathing and slumped to the floor. What had gone wrong? Why were there Grimm in the school? And Winter-

Winter! Weiss raced out the door, intent on finding her sister. She found herself in the courtyard, a wounded Winter dragging herself across the grass, Zwei half tugging the Specialist forward; clearly not doing much, but trying nonetheless.

"Weiss.." Winter stared up at her, her long white hair out of its usual bun, now trailing behind her, filled with dirt and twigs. "Why...how...you left me…" Her strength gave out and she fell to the ground, repeating those three words.

The younger sister raced to her side. "I thought you were dead. The wall collapsed and- how did you escape?"

"Come now, little girl." A woman's deep voice reverberated around her, and she reached for her rapier, only to find it missing. "She never escaped. No one escapes. Not _them_...and not _you_." Weiss felt her feet leave the ground, and Zwei grabbed her shoe. Not wanting to lose him too, she scooped him up along with her. Looking down, she saw Remnant fall away, her sister now face down and unmoving, and she was suddenly surrounded by cold blackness. "No one escapes." The woman repeated a mere shadow at the edge of her vision. "You can run, but I'll get you." A soft, dark chuckle punctuated that sentence and Weiss felt cold terror flood through her. "I'll get you, my pretty, and your little dog too." The soft laughter became louder and more sinister before suddenly morphing into a high pitched cackle. Weiss tried to run, but couldn't move. She tried to scream and felt her throat clog with something, even as her stomach churned. She felt as though she was suffocating.

Then she woke up.

♥ ♣ ♦ ♠

"Cough." The order broke through her haze, and she did so, feeling herself being rolled sideways. Her clothes were soaked through, and she smelled vomit.

She tasted it too.

Whoever had rolled her over was pounding her back as she hacked violently, clearing her airway of bile and partially-digested food. Eventually she felt her lungs were clear enough, but her already delicate stomach was, unfortunately, upset by the hard coughing, and she found herself trying to add to the vomit stains on her sheets. Her stomach was empty, and all she could do was heave. Her body refused to listen to her, and as her helper rubbed her shoulders and made reassuring noises, she desperately tried to move. When the dry heaves had finally let up, she felt the supporting arm let her go, and she flopped back onto her back.

Trying not to cry at the fact that she could smell the vomit in her hair, she focused on the figure who had been helping her. "Who-"

"Shhhh." Yang moved into the moonlight so she could be seen. "You're okay. It was just a dream."

"Nightmare." Weiss disagreed. "Ugh." She wanted to rub her eyes, but still couldn't move. The tears she was holding back finally fell as she cried in frustration. She _hated_ this, the feeling of being trapped in her own body. She knew what it was-never let it be said Weiss Schnee wouldn't look up something plaguing her-but that didn't make her sleep paralysis episodes any easier.

"Um." Yang looked torn.

"Can't move." Weiss got out between sobs. Sobs at her helplessness. Sobs at her failures in her dreams. Sobs at the bodies.

The brawler moved in, carefully helping her sit up. The white haired girl coughed a bit and heaved a little more bile. "It's okay Weiss. It's all right. I'm going to help you. Trust me."

Weiss wanted to tell Yang it was definitely _not_ okay, and that she didn't have much of a choice, but found her head just nodding along. "Hate...sleep paralysis." She forced the last two words out in case her mouth stopped working again, the leftover fear still flooding her system.

The brawler carefully maneuvered her out of bed, picking her up bridal style and taking her to the bathroom. Propping Weiss up on the toilet, the blonde carefully went about preparing the shower for the white haired girl. A few moments later she looked at her. "Can you move?"

Weiss was pleased to discover that, yes, she could move...kind of. Her muscles were responding in a delayed, clumsy fashion and were not exactly strong, but she could move. _Walking,_ however, proved to be a bit too complex for her body, and it was only Yang's quick reflexes that kept her from falling face first onto the tile. "Yes, I can _move_ ; however it is apparently going to be a bit for me to actually be able to function. Properly." The heiress was glad she could at least speak. The episodes where she couldn't even talk were some of the worst in her opinion. All she could do was cry, a complete prisoner in her body as her mind replayed horrifying images of Grimm and Shadows coming to kill her.

Yang seemed to be weighing something, and Weiss narrowed her eyes. " _Don't even_ _ **think**_ _about it, Xiao Long!"_ The brawler caught her look, and smirked, whipping her shirt over her head and adding her sweatpants and panties to the pile before crossing to Weiss.

"Touch me and _die_." Weiss tried to make her voice as menacing as she could, but it seemed Yang wasn't even remotely fazed, pulling on her nightgown. The heiress decided to just go with it. She felt _miserable_ covered in dried sweat and vomit, and she knew her panties were soaked through with what felt like a jump-started period. Hopefully Yang wouldn't be too grossed out.

Yang did briefly pause at her panties, eventually carefully removing them and piling them on her soaked nightgown before pausing to grab some painkillers. Weiss stuck her hand out stubbornly, and the blonde acquiesced to her unspoken request by handing her the little white pills.

Weiss popped the pills into her mouth without an issue, but Yang refused to hand her the glass of water. Finally the smaller girl just gave up and let the brawler feed her the water so she could swallow the little capsules. Eventually Yang gave her a 'you ready?' look, and when she nodded the bigger girl very carefully carried her into the hot water, acting as a buffer and judging how much the temperature needed to change based on her reactions. Eventually they found a good position and Yang moved behind her so she could be a better support.

It wasn't like she hadn't had to share showers with a girl before, or even Yang for that matter. It just wasn't her preferred method of showering, but she was miserable, and being left alone after the _wonderful_ experience that was a sleep terror just did not sound like fun. So she washed herself, leaning up against her teammate throughout it until her legs were finally acting like they were supposed to and reveling in the soothing warmth of the water. When she finished, she turned to ask her the blonde if she was going to wash as well, only to see that Yang had dissapeared as soon as she was no longer needed as a support. Ignoring the sudden wave of nervousness that hit her at the fact she was now alone she quickly shut off the water and made her way out of the shower. Seeing there was a towel and a fresh set of nightclothes (as well as some tampons and pads, thank the gods) she quickly got dressed and made her way out of the bathroom, leaving the light on behind her.

The room that RWBY shared had every light on, and Weiss noticed immediately that both Ruby and Blake were missing. A quick glance outside confirmed that the sun was still down. Yang was reading a book titled " _The Death of Those Who Oppose Me…",_ which she vaguely remembered Blake referencing a few weeks ago as a major inspiration for the current White Fang leader.

"Feel better?" Yang closed the book, marking her page as she did so.

"Yes, thank you." Weiss tried to look haughty, but it quickly fell apart. She was too tired and too thankful to pretend to be otherwise. Especially to someone like Yang, who had helped her without any questioning.

Yang carefully guided her to a chair in front of the mirror the four of them usually hid in the closet, grabbing a brush as she did so. "Are you doing better?"

The white haired girl opened her mouth to lie before closing it again and shrugging.

"Yeah, I get that." Yang pulled up a chair and began brushing the smaller girl's hair, hands carefully working the tangles out without any trouble. "The mind is the first to go and all that. I take it from your earlier words this isn't the first nightmare you've had." Weiss opened her mouth to respond, but the blonde just kept speaking. "I get it. They suck _a lot_ , and…" She continued talking as she worked through the silvery-white hair of her subject, and Weiss felt herself relax. Yang wasn't forcing her to tell her about it, wasn't asking her why she felt the way she did, she was just... _there_. The heiress could probably talk about it if she wanted to, and she had no doubt that if she did Yang would listen and ask questions, but the brawler seemed to sense that wasn't what Weiss wanted. That she just wanted company and the lights _on_.

Eventually the blonde either ran out of things to say or just got tired, because the two were sitting in a companionable silence when suddenly Yang laughed. Bitterly. Weiss adjusted her seating slightly so she could meet the brawler's eyes in a clear question. "Nothing, Weiss. Just realized what day it was. Sorry."

"Saturday?"

"No, the date, silly."

Weiss mentally ran through all the nearby holidays, anniversaries, and birthdays she could think of, finally remembering the more obscure one on this particular date. "International Murder Victim Remembrance Day?"

Yang sucked in her breath, letting it out slowly. "Yeah. That's...about right. That seems like the kind of day she… yeah." The brawler seemed distracted, not really talking to Weiss anymore as she stared out the window. "I'm gonna go to the gym."

Weiss glanced at her watch and raised an eyebrow. "It's two twenty-six. The gym doesn't open until 5."

"Then I'll run." Yang was already reaching for her gym bag when Weiss caught her eye.

"Yang. Sit. Down." The brawler cautiously did so, and Weiss mentally recounted the way she had said that.

Oops.

"I owe you. You helped-"

"You don't owe me anything." Yang hurried to disagree. "I'm your teammate, and you're probably as close to me as Ruby is. I'll take care of you, no questions asked, every time."

Weiss sighed. Why was helping people so hard? "I am your teammate, and as your teammate I owe it to you to help you if you're upset." There, that seemed like a logical response. She mentally groaned as Yang's jaw hardened.

"Do I-?" The brawler took a deep breath, before letting it out, deflating as she did so. "Okay. Fine. But this goes no further than this room, okay? Like, I could get in a _ton_ of trouble with some _really_ bad people if they found out. I've literally never told _anyone_. Not Dad, not Uncle Qrow, not even Ruby. They'd do somthing stupid, and I don't want them in danger like that. But I… I _should_ probably tell someone the whole story. Just promise me you won't _ever_ speak of this. Please." Her tone was earnest, and her face looked...pleading? Weiss rubbed her eyes. That couldn't be right, Yang didn't plead. She was bossy, overbearing, and loud. But whenever she removed her hands, she saw Yang wearing the same slightly nervous, slightly desperate look. Finally Weiss nodded.

"Okay, I- I promise."

Yang seemed to sag with relief. "So you know about how I 'bought' Bumblebee from a friend right?" Weiss nodded, holding her tongue. The blonde seemed almost hesitant to talk about this, but was already building up steam the more she spoke. "So I did, but the price wasn't- it cost more than money, okay?" The heiress immediately mentally made a note to look into _everything_ that Yang brought up. If someone had hurt her teammate…

There would be hell to pay.

Yang seemed unaware of her audiences' mental declaration, because she was already continuing. "Bumblebee used to belong to a friend of mine named Jen. Jen was about two years older than me, and she was... _cool_." The way Yang said that Weiss didn't need to be a genius to know what she meant by 'cool'.

"First crush?"

Yang blushed. "Worse. First _girl_ crush. Of course I didn't know that until much later. I was just a thirteen-year old kid who kept sneaking out to the city to goof off with the cooler older girl. She taught me how to dance without caring about judgment, how to drink hard liquor, how to fight, and how to ride Bumblebee." She paused, then added, "She also helped me learn to drive a car, which is why my dad didn't have a heart attack when I brought home the bike later."

"I thought your uncle Qrow taught you to ride." Weiss looked surprised. "If anyone would be so irresponsible, it seemed like he would be."

Yang shrugged. "I think Uncle Qrow didn't want me to have any more freedom than I already did. A vehicle was a step too far for him, even though I was already sneaking out and catching a ride with my friends."

"And fighting? I thought your dad taught you that."

"Dad taught me how to dodge and block. He taught me to turn an opponent's strength into their weakness." The blonde smiled ruefully. "I'm…not very good at defense. Jen, though... she taught me how to throw a punch, take a punch, and spike the punch." The brawler chuckled while Weiss just frowned. Yang, realizing her joke wasn't going to get the appreciation it deserved, huffed and continued, "So she taught me a couple of hand-to-hand things, just streetfighting really. She taught me how to use improvised weapons, and she taught me how to… how to disarm someone." She went quiet for a moment. "She drilled it into my head, if I ever had to take a gun, to use it immediately, no questions asked, no second thoughts." Yang said quietly after a moment. "She used to use squirt guns to teach me how to immediately shoot back, and I did. I always wonder why she taught me that way."

"Maybe she thought it was important." Weiss tried to help.

Yang shrugged. "I was _thirteen_. I was a _kid_. No kid should be preparing like she's about to be mugged or something."

Weiss wanted to argue, but she felt like she was missing an important piece of information, so instead she asked, "So you liked her then?"

Yang laughed. "Yeah, feelings aside, Jen was, like, my _idol_ at thirteen. I knew her for two years, and she was about to leave for Atlas' Military Academy when we…" The blonde stopped for a moment before pressing on. "We all got together like usual. We were meeting a bunch of our friends a couple months before she was gonna leave. She picked me up and we were riding to the club. We stopped at a light, and she told me that if anything happened to her Bumblebee was going to be mine. I just laughed, and told her that nothing was going to happen to her…" Yang trailed off wiping her eyes. "She just agreed. Said she was invincible, and that really it was an excuse to transfer the title to me. It wasn't the first time she'd said that," the brawler added, "she always said I was born to ride, and that Bumblebee liked me better. That she would get a new bike as soon as I got licenced." Shaking herself, the bigger girl continued, "So we made it to the club, and we were dancing, chilling, you know, whatever."

Weiss wanted to point out that there were some sentences that meant nothing, and that one was one of the best examples she'd ever heard, but Yang was already pushing on.

"So there was this new guy we were hanging out with, Kid Billy, he was called, and he had what I now see was an… unhealthy interest in me." Yang shuddered slightly, and Weiss mentally added this creep to the list of people she needed to find. "I was fifteen, naive as hell, and he was eighteen or nineteen and _really_ wanted to get to know me better. So he invited me out to the alley around back for a smoke when there was a break."

"Oh no." Whispered Weiss.

"Yep." Yang sighed. "I hadn't smoked yet. I'd done a few different cocktails when no one was looking and had a couple really bad trips, as well as a few good ones, but no one in the group really smoked." She gave a half-smile. "They all preferred to drink."

"Yang, please tell me you didn't go with him." Weiss begged.

Yang ducked her head, looking ashamed. "I didn't know any better? I was too young? I don't know what to tell you Weiss, I just went with it. He was older, and had a 'cool' nickname, and I was an idiot." She took a deep breath, obviously fortifying herself, before continuing her story. "So we went out back, and he...made his move. I didn't really know what to do. Kissing felt weird, and I was still trying to get my head around that when he grabbed my breast." Weiss looked horrified, but Yang continued calmly, "This meant that I promptly pushed him off me, with a 'what the hell?' We had a disagreement about where hands could and could not go. He pushed, I pushed back. He tore my shirt open. I kneed him in the groin, and he responded by pulling a gun." The brawler closed her eyes. "I always wondered how Jen knew that I would need that knowledge. I met her when she was fifteen, remember? And not two years later, when _I_ was fifteen, I needed it; and the nonstop training she gave me just kicked in. I disarmed him, grabbed the gun, the safety was already off, otherwise it would have been pointless, and I just…" She leaned forward. "Weiss, it was instinct, I swear! I didn't mean to…I just reacted-" She broke off, a sob escaping her.

Weiss could tell Yang was not handling this as well as she had been a moment ago. Moving forward, she carefully enveloped her friend in a hug. "I know, Yang. I know."

The muffled voice of the brawler came from her shoulder. "Turns out a gun makes a lot of noise, especially if you pull the trigger a few times. Jen came out first, and immediately figured out what had happened." There was a choked laugh from the blonde, and Weiss began to stroke the bigger girl's hair, trying to soothe her. "It wasn't all that hard, honestly, I mean I was standing there in the tattered remains of a shirt and one of my breasts was pulled out of my bra. She just handed me her jacket and grabbed the gun. I was in shock, he was bleeding, I just kept telling her 'I killed him.'" She pulled back, taking a deep breath as she did so. "Jen looked at me, turned back to him, and shot him point blank in the head."

"She killed him so his death wasn't on your conscience." Weiss marvelled.

"She just… she just took me and we ran. Ran to Bumblebee, rode away, and then she asked me what happened." Yang took another shuddering breath. "I told her, and she asked me what I wanted to tell the police." The blonde closed her eyes, shame written on her face. "I told her...I told her I didn't want them to get involved, and she just said 'okay.' No recrimination, no counseling me that I should come clean because her fingerprints were on the murder weapon, just 'okay.'" Yang opened her eyes, a deep sadness reflected in the purple orbs. "She took me home, told me that everything would be okay, and rode off."

"Did she get away?" Weiss asked curiously.

Yang shook her head. "She drove straight to her house, dropped off Bumblebee, finished signing the bike to me, and called a taxi. She turned herself in, no questions asked."

"But your prints-" Weiss began, but Yang shook her head.

"Never showed up when they dusted the gun." The blonde looked down, before quietly adding. "She cleaned it."

"So what happened?" The white haired girl asked after a pause. She was genuinely curious, and kind of wanted to get Jen out of prison if at all possible.

"Well, she was scheduled to go to her first hearing on the 25th of September, and I didn't want to miss it. In order to keep me safe, she had removed my prints-"

"-And in doing so, removed his." Weiss realized. "Oh, Yang, I'm so sorry."

"It gets better, don't worry." Yang's dry tone didn't reassure the heiress. "I went to meet her at the courthouse, and… and…" The blonde seemed to be struggling to keep her composure, when suddenly she broke. "She was walking out… walking up to me… never thought it would happen…gunshot...sniper…through...head…" Finally her words became incomprehensible as she bawled into her friend's shoulder.

Weiss just held her friend as she cried. She wanted to help, to tell her teammate that it was okay, but it wasn't. A crush, a friend, a surrogate big sister, whatever Jen had been to Yang, she had been brutally murdered in front of a fifteen year old girl who had been nearly raped.

What could she say that could make it better?

After a while, Yang finally calmed down enough and carefully lifted her shirt. "Um, Yang, I know we showered together earlier, but-"

"Right here." The blonde interrupted in a montone, pointing to a small scar on her shoulder. "And right here." She turned around and Weiss gasped at the large scar over her shoulder blade. "The bullet that killed her… it hit me, too. Shattered my shoulder blade, left pieces of it all over the ground… It hurt. I thought I was going to die, then I thought I _was_ dying." She looked down at her shirt, fidgeting with it, before finishing quietly, "I _wanted_ to die."

"But you didn't," Weiss responded. At her teammate's 'Well duh' look, she nodded. "Yang, I can't even _begin_ to imagine how you must have felt, or how this affected you-"

"It's why I'm here." The blonde cut her off. "I...I _had_ to do something. Jen...she was supposed to go to Atlas. According to her parents, she was already cutting a deal that would have seen her transferred on a 'probationary' status. They didn't have enough evidence, which is why…" She trailed off, and Weiss understood the unstated. That was why the boy's family had taken their revenge- because the girl who had killed him was going to get off.

"So you joined in her place?"

"After I… recovered," the brawler began slowly, "I realized the world was short a huntress. Ruby had always wanted to follow in her parents' footsteps. I was… less certain. I kinda wanted to, because I knew Jen was interested and I thought it would be something else we could have in common. At the same time, I was fifteen- what kid really knows what they want at fifteen?" She let out a choked laugh. "I did after that, though. I got serious about school, started training hard against Qrow and my dad. I didn't waste my time on anything other than trying to find my mom, wherever she is." Sighing the blonde pulled her shirt back on and sat back down. "You want a wakeup call? Lose your best friend. I realized how short life was after that, and I decided I wanted every moment after it to be worth something." She smiled painfully. "I started this for her, but I stuck with it for me. I'm in this for the adventure, the adrenaline rush. The chance to help others is just a bonus."

Weiss furrowed her brow. "Why didn't you become local security? They do things like look into murders-"

"Because I've been on the other side of the gun." Yang replied softly. "Weiss, I _never_ want to be in a position that forces me to take a life again. The Grimm are a threat to all life on the planet-for the lives I took, I need to save as many as I can."

"You didn't-"

"I may not have been the 'official' reason William died, but I certainly would have been if my best friend hadn't become a murderer to keep my conscience clean." The blonde paused, taking a deep breath. "I may not have been the one who killed Jen, but my silence ensured that the Shatner family went after her."

"No."

"What?"

"I said _no._ " The Schnee heiress had just had this girl go above and beyond for her; it would be a cold day in the Mistral Desert before she let her blame herself. "You defended yourself against a _rapist,_ Yang, there is no government on the planet that would make that illegal."

"I killed him-"

"As far as the courts would be concerned, Jennifer killed him."

"She only finished what I started-"

"-and until then, he was alive!" Weiss countered fiercely. "I appreciate what she did for you, because _she_ made the choice to end his life! Not _you!_ And unless you also told that stupid rapist's father what to do, then you didn't end her life either!"

"I kept quiet-!" Yang's voice was rising, but Weiss easily shouted her down.

"You had just been sexually assaulted!" She was breathing heavily, but didn't let her teammate get a word in as she continued to tear down her friend's arguments. "Jen _forced_ you to make a choice that _no one_ should have made you make- at least not until you'd had a chance to get your head on straight! She made you choose between telling the world you'd nearly been raped and _lying_ to the police. She didn't bother to consider how you might feel, and I guarantee you she sure as _fuck_ didn't plan on being assasinated!" Yang blinked at her language, but the white haired girl wasn't done yet. "You made a mistake trusting that guy, and his actions, and by extension his father's, _were not your fault!"_ She tried to ignore the sudden pain in her eyes. Refusing to cry, she took several deep breaths before continuing.

"Yang, I can't tell you how important this is. You can't blame yourself for this-"

"But I made the decisions…" Yang trailed off.

"You acted on instinct, and I'm glad you did." Weiss gingerly put a hand on her teammate's shoulder, when the blonde didn't pull back she guessed that she was doing the right thing. "You are still here, still _alive_. What if you hadn't done that? Would _he_ have hesitated to pull the trigger?"

"I… I don't know."

"Would you want to take that risk?" Weiss asked, continuing before her teammate could respond. "I know I don't. You pulled me out of a night terror tonight, kept me from choking, and then helped me clean up." She sighed, pulling her arm back. "What if you hadn't been here?"

"You have other teammates, who knows, maybe you'd have ended up with Jaune-"

The white haired girl shuddered. "No. Look, he's nice, I guess, but he's not exactly… bright?" She wasn't sure that was the right word, but decided not to dwell on it. "He's certainly more nervous than he needs to be. I'm not sure I would want him to be watching me while I slept- he'd be liable to do so when I didn't need it." Yang snorted, and Weiss tried to smile herself. "No matter what, you helped me tonight. You didn't press me, you did everything to be there for me, and you let me deal with things in my own way." She paused. "I can't imagine being on a team without you, Yang."

Yang smirked. "Why, Miss Schnee, I believe that is almost a compliment."

"Shut up." Weiss rolled her eyes, happy her friend was feeling better.

"I'm glad I can benefit from your Weiss-dom."

The white-haired girl winced. "Okay, I helped you. That doesn't give you the right to-"

"-Use your name in whatever way Schnee-ms best?" Yang's eyes were sparkling, and Weiss fought the urge to stomp her foot.

"Fine. Whatever. Let's go to bed."

Yang glanced at her scroll. "It's...three-forty. Are you good to sleep?"

"Maybe." Weiss replied honestly. "If I'm not, then I always have you guarding my back." She glanced around the room. "Especially since it seems our partners have gone who-knows-where."

"Blake's probably downstairs." Yang replied, starting to turn off lights, but leaving the bathroom one on.

"Doing what?"

"Whatever black cats do after dark," came her teammate's glib reply as she lifted herself into the top bunk. "I didn't press. When I asked, she said downstairs. If I really wanted to know, I would have followed her."

"Do you think she's up to something?"

Yang climbed into bed, and Weiss was pleasantly surprised to see her bedding had been changed, with even the smell of vomit now gone. After a minute, the blonde spoke. "Probably. No more so than the rest of us."

"What about Ruby?"

"Ah. Now, Ruby...I have no idea where she is."

"What?" Weiss sat up quickly. "Yang, we need to-"

"-do nothing." The blonde rolled over to face her friend. "Ruby is a big girl. If she doesn't come back by tomorrow I will worry. I will tear this school apart nail by nail if I have to, and then start on the city. Nothing will stand in my way." She rolled back. "If, however, she is back tomorrow, then I will ask her where she was, and if I don't like her answer I will consider following her next time." The brawler made a shrugging motion. "Really though, there's only two places my sister might be that come to mind."

Weiss lay back down, her heartbeat slowly returning to normal. "And those are?"

"I figure Ruby is either enjoying the benefits of being away from home, or she is with Blake. I hope for my sanity's sake it is not both."

"Huh?"

Yang faced her again, a glimmer in her eye. "I said either my sister's fucking someone right now, or she's out with Blake. For the sake of my sanity, I hope she's not fucking Blake!"

Weiss felt her face go red. "Yang!"

Muffled laughter came from the top bunk as the brawler rolled away. "Let's get some sleep, Weiss. Good night."

"Good night."

**Author's Note:**

> Title Credit: Og Mandino
> 
> Working Title: Dark Dreaming
> 
> R&R
> 
> The muse is on the run on Mars of all places this week. I'm currently in negotiations with Elon to get me temporary access to a rocket for a short term to catch up. If I don't make it... donate all the cookies to 'cookies for kittens.'
> 
> Thanks for reading.


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